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THURSDAY MARCH 15, 2012 Breaking news at: Classical Crossover Pastimes www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A RED BLUFF Cardinal Wrestling SPORTS 1B likely Weather forecast 8B Rain 60/49 DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Out on the street Delta plan irks supervisors By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer County supervisors signed off on a letter to the Delta Stewardship Council March 6 urging planners to fur- ther consider impacts to groundwater supplies in the North State. Calling the Draft Delta Plan Program's environmen- tal impact report analysis "cursory, dismissive and non- compliant with the California Environmental Quality Act," the letter states that the council didn't do a good enough job considering water use. The Delta Plan emerged through state legislation passed in Nov. 2009 that established the Delta Stew- ardship Council to address the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The draft plan emerged mid-February this year and See DELTA, page 7A Gerber to mull late fees, levee issues The Gerber-Las Flores Community Service Dis- trict meets at 5:30 tonight to discuss the latest in levee problems and approve a new billing pro- cedure. "We're trying to lessen Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Finding shelter in the rainy weather is harder in Red Bluff, where people often have to huddle in public restrooms and under business awnings to keep dry. By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer As the week's winds and rain continue, several people who don't have a home struggle to find dry spots to stay during the day. Jessica M. Deckard, 36, because of addictions and paranoid schizophre- nia, has been unable to find a permanent home. "Nobody wants to take me in," she said. Mental health facilities won't take her in because she is not suicidal or homicidal. Born in Portland, Ore., Deckard has spent 13 years here, and calls Red 'We don't turn anyone away. The colder it gets, the more we get' — Shelter co-manager Bonnie Martin Bluff her home. Because panhandling is not allowed, she has a hard time making her Social Security stretch through the month, she said. She buys McDon- ald's restaurant food cards to make sure she has her FBI seeks armed and dangerous 'AK-47 Bandit' SACRAMENTO — The Federal Bureau of Investigation asks the public to help identify an armed bank robber sus- pected in a bank robbery in Vacaville and attempt to access a bank for the purpose of robbery in Sacramento. The individual is believed to be connected to a robbery in Chino in which an officer was shot. The armed suspect is described as a white male, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, 180-220 pounds and is estimated 25-40 years old based on the sound of his voice. In each incident, he has been dressed in tacti- cal gear over a short- sleeved collared shirt and blue pants. He also has worn a full-face ski mask and blue ballistic vest and a green mesh vest marked "Sheriff." During the robberies, the individual entered armed with a shoulder- held AK-47 assault rifle with a drum magazine. In each incident, the suspect was seen leaving the scene in a dark grey full-size sedan presumed to be a Nissan Maxima with chrome trim and tint- ed windows. A flyer with photos of the vehicle and the subject in addition to reward information is available at fbi.gov/ak47. At around 4:50 p.m. on Monday, Bank of the West on the 1000 block of Helen Power Drive in Vacaville was robbed. The suspect left the area with an undisclosed amount of cash. The vehicle's license plate may have been covered during this robbery. Three days prior at around 9:45 a.m. on March 9, the suspect 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See BANDIT, page 7A meals on days when com- munity service programs don't offer free meals. During rainy days, she often spends time with her friend Tom or huddles with others wherever she can. If she didn't have Tom, she would be "huddled at the bathrooms at the park with the rest of them," she said. Part of the problem is all the drug use that hap- pens there, she said. "It's hard to be on the streets and not use," she said. Sober now for more than a week, Deckard has been staying nights at the Poor And The Homeless community shelter inside the First United Methodist Church, 525 David Ave. It is a hard place to be for someone addicted, Deckard said. If someone See STREET, page 7A the blow on some of these folks," said District Man- ager Mike Murphy. "There were some stiff penalties for being late and we're trying to make it more fair." At the Feb. 16 meeting, the district board dis- cussed the option of changing the billing pro- cedure so instead of charging interest on a late bill to charge a $5 late fee, Murphy said. The board is expected to vote on the matter tonight. The district continues to work on problems regarding the levee in Gerber, an issue that has grown. Rodent control prob- lems led the levee to be redlined as unacceptable by the Army Corps of Engineers in an inspection report received by the dis- trict on Jan. 13. If the district's rodent problem is not taken care of, it could cause it to loose eligibility for feder- al funds under the PL 84- 99 Program — a federal assistance program in case of a levee break and flood, Murphy said. "If we get kicked out of the program, Gerber resi- dents with mortgages would most likely be required to carry flood insurance," Murphy said. "We are coordinating our efforts for rodent control with the Tehama County Public Works." The district, weather permitting, is planning to fill in the holes along the 1.6-mile levee with grout next week, Murphy said. In addition to rodents, there is now a problem with 10 high voltage power poles that may be in the easement of the levee, he said. "They're asking for power pole removal, See FEES, page 7A Groups gather for community action Special to the DN Ten nonprofit and ser- vice agencies from all cor- ners of the county joined on Friday, March 9, to share their missions, visions and strategies for success at the Tehama County Community Action Agency's first capacity building work- shop. Participants learned the "One Page Business Plan®" approach to strategic planning and capacity building to strengthen their organiza- tions in the coming years. "This should make everything much easier and much more stream- lined," said Lew Beitz, director of the Rancho Tehama Community Cen- ter. "I really enjoyed the seminar." Participants learned to create a mission and vision statement using new techniques to help focus on the long term goals, strategies and objectives by breaking them down into smaller tasks with due dates and accountability. The workshop was facilitated by Catherine Marshall, a consultant to nonprofit organizations since 1982 and former See ACTION, page 7A Courtesy photo Attendees of the workshop included: Tehama County Community Action Agency members Mandy Sharp, Helena Winters Tabetha O Quinn and Jose Valenzuela; Hillary Lindauer and Joe Harrop of the Family Service Agency; Pam Britting of the Tehama County Museum; Vicki and Dennis D Allwardt and Clyde Brandt of Homes of Hope for VIDA; Lew Beitz of Rancho Tehama Community Foundation; Jeanne Spurr and Linda Dickerson of Alternative to Violence; Mike Baldwin, Elizabeth Garibay and Amanda Vasconcellos of the Tehama County Community Action Agency; E.C. Ross and David Lamberson of PATH (Poor and the Homeless); Orle Jackson and Colleen M Sheehan of Tehama Together; Trisha Wing and Wanda Rodrigues of Open Vistas Awareness Center; Ray Mahnke of Plum Valley Community Center and Tara Loucks- Shepherd of the Tehama County Community Action Agency.